"The Excelsior Brewing Co., ca. 1910.

Excelsior was founded in 1896, when its owners took over a brewery facility on Pulaski Street from the Frederick Hower Brewing Company. Like many beer producers, Excelsior struggled to stay afloat during Prohibition by selling “near beer” — while also smuggling the real stuff to bootleggers.

In August 1930, “dry squad” agents discovered a pipe connecting the brewery to a garage across Pulaski Street, where kegs could be filled with real, albeit off-label, Excelsior suds. The brewery survived, as authorities weren’t able to determine who was responsible for the scheme.

Two years later, Excelsior was forced to shut down, selling the facility to Kings Brewery Company, who in 1935 became the first city brewery to offer its beer in cans. Kings closed in 1938, leaving the building abandoned until its demolition during the 1950s."